NBA commissioner David Stern has fined the San Antonio Spurs $250,000, citing their "disservice" to the league and its fans as grounds for the fine.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich sent four players—Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Danny Green—back to San Antonio before the final day of a stretch with four games in five days. They were also without forwards Kawhi Leonard and Steven Jackson because of injury. Disregarding the fact it was San Antonio's only trip to Miami to play the Heat—and that the Thursday game was placed in prime time on TNT—Popovich did what he said was best for his team.

The Spurs were fined $250,000 for sending four players, including Tony Parker, right, back to San Antonio before a road game in Miami. (AP Photo)

On the contrary, what Popovich saw as fit for the Spurs, Stern interpreted as a smack to the face of NBA fans. Stern immediately issued a statement and promised heavy consequences for the Spurs' decision to send its marquee players back to San Antonio, just as the team was set to play the Heat.

"I apologize to all NBA fans," Stern said in a statement Thursday evening. "This was an unacceptable decision by the San Antonio Spurs and substantial sanctions will be forthcoming."

San Antonio, which played to a 105-100 loss to Miami on Thursday, went to Florida at the end of a six-game road trip, from Nov. 21 to Nov. 29, that included three days off. Stern did not mention the Spurs' road trip in a statement released Friday, instead focusing on the fact San Antonio pulled players out of a game in the first month of competition, in only the 17th game of an 82-game season.

"The result here is dictated by the totality of the facts in this case," Stern said in a statement. "The Spurs decided to make four of their top players unavailable for an early-season game that was the team's only regular-season visit to Miami. The team also did this without informing the Heat, the media, or the league office in a timely way. Under these circumstances, I have concluded that the Spurs did a disservice to the league and our fans."

Resting veteran players at the end of a long stretch of games or at the end of the season has become commonplace on teams like San Antonio. The Boston Celtics, similar in age to the Spurs, who have six players over 30, routinely sit veterans like Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce near the end of the season.

Players and coaches have complained that too many games in too many nights can make it hard for players to put forth their best effort and remain healthy. This became an issue as the league squeezed in a 66-game condensed 2011-12 season after the NBA lockout.

The Spurs' $250,000 fine is the largest tolled out thus far this season, and the largest since Kobe Bryant was fined $100,000 for yelling a homophobic slur at a referee in 2011. Other large sums have been paid out by Miami Heat owner Micky Arison and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who were each fine $500,000 for separate incidents.

The largest fine in NBA history ($3.5 million) was given to the Minnesota Timberwolves in 1999-2000, when they illegally signed Joe Smith following the death of forward Malik Sealy.